Moving to a new area you have never visited prior, and where you have no connections, is always intimidating. But, I’m a firm believer of trusting the process.

As I will be departing from The Marshall Independent after two years, my last day being Wednesday, I’ve been reflecting on my time here, with all the memories made and lessons learned.

Truthfully, I had my doubts about moving to Marshall. I had always grown up and lived in bigger cities, being from the Minneapolis area, but the opportunity here was calling me. I got to a point where I really wanted to return to Minnesota to be closer with my family and friends, as I had spent about seven years away from home between going to college at North Dakota State University in Fargo, then pursuing my masters degree down in Chicago.

There’s always some difficulties in trying to find your place in a new community. But, it didn’t take me long to realize everyone here is very welcoming, which made the transition a bit easier.

During my time here, I split my role being both a sports and news/education reporter.

My background is sports journalism, and there have been numerous occasions that I’ve thought to myself how lucky I am to have discovered this area, as the athletic talent and success is probably unlike I have ever seen before.

While there are too many games, interviews and stories to name here that stand out, there’s a handful of milestones and moments that I have felt especially thankful to have covered during my time here.

As we know, this area is loaded with volleyball talent. Seeing Marshall bounce-back and claim its 10th state tournament title this year was special, and we’ve also been lucky to cover Minneota and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton at state as well.

I also got to cover the Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team compete in the Division II NCAA Tournament in 2024, which was its second-straight season earning a bid.

Another thing I have really been blown away by is seeing how much the small communities rally for its prep sports. This quickly became very obvious to me when I covered the Dawson-Boyd boys basketball team win its first-ever state championship last season.

Williams Arena in Minneapolis was packed with black and gold and easily made their support known, and it was so heartwarming to see. I’ll never forget when that final buzzer rang, how the fans were jumping on one another and how the players and coaches were overcome with emotion, after bringing such a small town to state-level recognition.

Speaking of the Blackjacks, I also had the opportunity to cover their past two state championships for girls golf, which were amazing to say the least.

One of my favorite things about this job is being able to see a full season through with our teams.

There’s something about following along and covering a team from the very first game or meet of the season, all the way up to their last at the section or state tournament, that is so uniquely special. We spend so much time over the season covering and talking with our athletes and coaches, and to do the same miles away at a bigger venue with large stakes, is always such a full-circle moment.

We have also had a ton of programs make history, and it’s been a pleasure bringing those stories to life. Whether that be Minneota football or Marshall volleyball continuing their winning cultures and setting the standards of a state title, Yellow Medicine East softball making it to the section championship for the first time, or covering the Wabasso boys basketball team’s rapid turnaround and making a run to the subsection championship with a 26-win season — I am truly at a loss of words when it comes to what our teams and athletes are capable of.

One of my last duties here, which I personally think is an incredible note to leave on, was covering the Murray County Central baseball team’s state quarterfinal game in St. Cloud against Ogilvie.

MCC got the win in the most exhilarating fashion, which I think will forever be a core memory. The team was once down by four runs and spent the entire game trying to gain control and get in front, and they finally tied the score up in the seventh to force an extra inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, MCC was able to get the bases loaded and I will never forget Gabe Tentinger watching his fly ball sail through the air to left field with both his arms straight up while trotting to first base for the walk-off comeback win. It was also MCC’s first time at state in 25 years.

I was standing right beside the MCC dugout at that moment taking pictures, and that few seconds of the ball hanging in the air felt like 10 minutes as the players were all crowded on the edge of the dugout just waiting to see if that ball was hit far enough, which it definitely was, as Carson Lewis sprinted home for the win. The way the team celebrated with one another after tackling Gabe on the field, and how the MCC crowd lit the ballpark up, definitely gave me chills.

All of that to say, the sports community here is like no other. It has been a true honor covering our area athletics. Our teams have so much to be proud of!

Although both myself and Jake McNeill, sports editor, are both leaving Marshall and going our separate ways, we have had numerous conversations over the last two years about how lucky we feel to have so many opportunities to cover such gifted teams and athletes here.

While sports media is my driving passion, I have also split my reporting duties here to help on the news side as well. While covering two very different beats definitely keeps you on your toes and brings it challenges, I’m also happy I was able to cover a lot of great events or achievements through our schools.

I spent a majority of my time on the news beat covering education. Beyond covering the business-side of things like referendums, budgets and board meetings, it has been so much fun being able to step into the classrooms and collaborate with teachers and students one-on-one.

Some of my favorite stories on the education beat included former Marshall student Dylan Larson getting selected to participate in the Macy’s Great American Marching Band for the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Nov. 2024. It was fun getting to chat with him about that experience and how it came to be, and I thought it was so cool to see a student from here getting to perform on a national level.

I’ve also done a few stories with our area band and Future Farmers of America students, as I really tried to give some spotlight to other extracurriculars and groups of students as well.

Additionally, I always enjoyed writing up a Tiger Spotlight report every month from the Marshall school board meetings, where they recognize a student of the month from each school site.

Some other fond memories on the news beat include going out to a handful of field trips for Martin Boucek’s science class at Lynd Public School. I got to follow along on a few fishing trips at Camden State Park (and out to ice fishing twice as well!), and also stopped by to cover a maple-syrup project they worked on.

Getting to talk with our area students about what they are learning, involved in or proud of, has definitely been a highlight of my time here as well.

There is a lot I will carry with me after I leave here. But, perhaps most importantly, it will be the relationships I formed. I feel lucky that there are so many people I would like to thank for helping and welcoming me here, that it is impossible to list off everyone. But, truly, to the entire community — Thank you for working with me, trusting me and for making this a place that I will consider as a valuable part of wherever my path may take me.

But, I have to give a special shout out to Jake. Him and I have worked side-by-side the last two years on sports, and it’s truly been a pleasure to bring this area the sports coverage it so very much deserves. Again, the journey of the teams and athletes we have been able to cover here is not something we take for granted. It’s been our pride and passion, and it’s been a fun ride together!

All of this to say, I am leaving Marshall with a lot of special memories. I feel fulfilled in leaving here knowing I got to experience a lot of incredible moments, and brought the stories to fruition.

I’m always happy to stay in touch or check-in! Feel free to reach out to me any time on Twitter, at @Davis98Samantha.

Signing off,

Sam Davis